Mechanical water cooler



Oct. 111, 1932. E. C. CLIFFORD MECHANICAL WATER COOLER Filed Dec. 22,1931v 3 Sheets-Sheet l 08. 11, 1932. E. c. CLIFFORD ssmm MECHANICALWATER COOLER Filed Dec. 22. 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 15 1f L. '.f

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Oct. 111, 1932. EVC. CLIFFORD MECHANICAL WATER COOLER Filed Dec. 22.1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Oct. 11, 1932 v UNITED STATES EDWARD c.cziirronn, or NEW max, 11. Y.

MECHANICAL WATER COOLER Application filed December 22, 1931. Serial No.582,515.

This invention relates to the art of refrigeration and particularly tothe art covering mechanical devices for cooling water or other liquidfor drinking purposes.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a simple andefficient refrigeratin chamber in which the liquid to be coole comes incontact with a cooling coil. This is accomplished by providing acircular refrigcrating chamber and directing the inflowing liquid aroundthe cooling coil so as to provide efiicient contact of the incomingliquid with the cooling coil. The thermostat controlling the operationof the refrigerating system is located in the bottom of therefrigerating chamber adjacent the outlet, so that it can operate toaccurately control the temperature of the water leaving therefrigerating chamber. 1

A further object is to furnish a compact and efiicient refrigeratingchamber arranged so that the parts can readily be disassembled forinspection and cleaning.

An additional object is to provide a circular refrigerating chamberadapted to receive a refrigerating coil and to hold a minimum amount ofthe liquid to be cooled.

These and other-objects of the invention will become apparent as thedescription pro-- ceeds.

While a preferred form of. the invention is disclosed herein forpurposes of illustra tion, it will be understood that various changesand modifications may be made with out departing from the spirit of theinvention as set forth in the specification and claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the refrigerationsystem, showing the refrigerating chamber in cross-section;

I Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 1. are sections taken on the line 22 of Figure 1-, showingmodified structures but with the cooling coil removed;

Figure .5 is a vertical section through a. modified form ofrefrigeration chamber;

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 5;

ature.

Figure 7 is a. section on line 7-7 of Figure 5;

Referring to the drawings more particularly, the refrigeration systemincludes a compressor 10 which is driven by a motor 11. A

condensation coil 13 is connected to the compressor 10 and to anexpansion valve 14. A pipe 15 connects the expansion valve to thecooling coil 16, and a pipe 17 connects the cooling coil to thecompressor.

The refrigerating chamber is composed of two parts; the flat, circularcasing 18 and the cover 19. The cover is attached to the circular casingby any suitable fastening means such as the bolts 20, and packing 21forms a liquid-tight seal between the cover and the casing. v

The cooling coil 16 is attached to the cover member 19 so that when thecover is removed from the casing, the cooling coil is also removed fromthe casing and the parts are r exposed for ready inspection or cleaning.

The inlet pipe 22'admits the liquid to be cooled into the refrigeratingchamber, and

the outlet pipe 23 leads the cooled liquid away from the refrigeratingchamber. It should be noted that the cooling coil follows closely theinner wall of the circular casing 18, and suitablemeans-is provided tocause the enter:

ing liquid to be cooled, such as water, to

move around the inner wall of the casing so that it comes into eflicientcontact with the cooling coil immediately upon its entry into therefrigerating chamber. In the construction-illustrated in Figures 1 and2 this result is achieved by a 'baflie 24 which is located on the bottomof the circular casing 18, just opposite the inlet pipe 22.

The operation of the electric motor 11 is v controlled by the switch 25which, in turn,

is operated by the thermostatic element 26. The thermostatic element 26is located at the bottom of the refrigerating chamber and as .close tothe outlet 23 as possible. In this position the thermostat is influencedby the temperature of the water as it leaves the refrigerating chamber,and it can therefore act efficiently to malntain the water leaving therefrigerating chamber at the desired tempermo Preferably thethermostatic element 26 is I placed in a recess 27 formed in the bottomof the refrigerating chamber, where it will be atall times in contactwith the'coldest water. Element 26 is held in place by an inexpensiveround joint that permits ready removal. is illustrated in Figure 7,'theelement 26 and the casing wall have complementary ground surfacesindicated at 28, held in sealing contact by nut 29 threaded into boss30.

It is desirable to form the refrigeratlng chamber so that it will hold arelatively small amount of water, as a large body of water would requirelonger to cool and would absorb heat and cause excessive running of therefrigeration system when the cooler stands idle for long periods oftime.

To assist in attaining this end the refrigcrating chamber shown inFigure 1 has its bottom wall deformed upwardly to form a drum-head 31which extends into the cooling coil 16. This construction also forms acircular channel around the coil 16, and assists in causing the incomingwater to flow around the coil.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 3, the inlet is directedtangentially of the wall of the circular casing, so that the incomingliquid starts to flow around the wall of the casing and is then directedinwardly by a baffle 24 which causes the liquid at this point to minglewith the body of liquid in the chamber and prevents its passage directlyto the outlet.

Figure 4 illustrates a further modification in which the inlet is in theform of a Y which directs the incoming fluid around the wall of thechamber in opposite directions. This form causes very eflicient contactof the incoming water with the cooling coil.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 the refrigerationchamber is in the form of a hollow ring inclosing the cooling .coil. Themain casing body 32 has a U-shaped section closely fittingabout the coil16, which is attached to the flat ring cover 33. The inlet pipe 15 andoutlet pipe 17 lead through the cover 33 and communicate with the cooling coil 16. Suitable fastening means, such as bolts 34 secure the coverto the body 32, and gaskets 35 form a liquid-tight seal. This form ofrefrigeration chamber has the smallest practicable liquid capacity, andmakes very eflicient use of the cooling medium, as the liquid enteringthe refrigeration chamber is forced to flow around both sides by thecasing. This channel is made as small as is commercially practicable, sothat the liquid surrounds the cooling coil in the form of a tube ofrelatively thin wall-section and hence comes into intimate contact withthe cooling coil.

In commercial practice the cooling coil is "a total capacity of 30.5cubic inchesof the of-water will cool practically instantaneously whenit is brought into efiicient contact with the cooling coil, as in thepresent invention.

I claim:

1. A liquid cooler comprising a flat casing having a circular channelformed therein, a cover, a coollng coil located within the circularchannel, a refrigeration system connected to the cooling coil, an inletand an outlet in communication with the circular channel, and athermostat in the circular channel and controlling operation of therefrigeration system.

2.: A liquid cooler comprising a flat casing having a circular channelformed therein, a cover, a cooling coil located within the circularchannel and attached to the cover, a refrigeration system connected tothe cooling coil, an inlet and an outlet in communication with thecircular channel, and a thermostat the circular channel and controllingoperation of the refrigeration system.

3. A. liquid cooler comprisin a body formed as a ring with a U-shapecross-section, a ring cover fitting over said body, a cooling coillocated within the body and attached to the cover, a refrigerationsystem.

connected to the cooling coil, an inlet and an outlet 1n communicationwith the interior of the body, and a thermostat in the circular minimum'capaclty, a refrigeration system connected to the cooling coil, an inletand an outlet communicating with the channel liquid cooler comprisingacoolingin the body, and a thermostat in the channel and controllingoperation of the refrigeration system.

EDWARD G. CLIFFORD.

